The alarm rings, it’s dark and cold – yet excitement tingles inside me. Amongst full clusters of grapes, tired muscles, and the magic of the first day of harvest, my vineyard adventure begins. It’s going to be tough, but every moment feels just right. Join me in a world where sparkling wine makes history.
Max Kaindl, 24. September 2024 Reading time about 9 minutes
The alarm goes off way too early, and it’s still pitch-black outside. I get up, throw on my rain jacket, and grab my weatherproof boots – Jan was right, it’s going to be cold and windy. As I step out the door, the air is crisp and fresh, with a light westerly breeze picking up. Somehow, this kind of cold feels good, the kind that wakes you up. Excitement tingles inside me, even though I know the next few hours are going to be tough. We gather at the winery. The mood is relaxed, almost familial. Jan greets me with a slightly sleepy grin, holding a coffee. “Sleep well?” he asks, handing me a pair of pruning shears. I nod – still a bit groggy, but that’ll change soon enough.
We’re off. Today, we’re harvesting Pinot Noir from the Bürgel vineyard. These grapes might end up in the final blend of Triumvirat, Raumland’s flagship sparkling wine. That thought gives me an extra boost of motivation. We drive to Bürgel, spreading out in the vineyard rows. The vines are dense, and the grapes hang heavy and full on the branches. The moon is massive, and the first rays of sunlight are starting to peek over the rooftops of Flörsheim-Dalsheim. The light is almost mystical – the perfect start to my 2024 sparkling wine harvest. Looking out over Bürgel, a thought crosses my mind: while floods rage in places like Saxony, Lower Austria, and the Czech Republic to the southeast of home, life goes on as usual in the German wine regions – as if nothing has happened.
The shears slice through the grape stem, and it feels right. The clusters land in Raumland’s small red crates. I feel content knowing that these small, seemingly insignificant actions will end up in a bottle of sparkling wine someday. Somewhere in a glass, somewhere with someone who has no idea how much work went into each of those bubbles. It’s somehow comforting, this thought that you’re creating something lasting.
After an hour, I start to feel it in my fingers and my back. The work may be meditative, but it’s also physically demanding. Each cluster needs to be cut carefully, without damaging any grapes. The sun slowly breaks through, and for a moment, everything feels perfect. Jan walks through the rows, checking the grapes, nodding with satisfaction. “Good quality this year,” he says, more to himself than to me. I smile, even though I have to admit that my untrained eye can barely tell the difference between the grapes. To me, they all look beautiful – and hopefully delicious. The ZDF Mittagsmagazin crew gives me a much-needed break from sparkling wine harvesting. Four curious journalists bombard Marie-Luise, Katharina, and Jan with questions about the sparkling wine harvest and cellar aging.
By noon, we head back to the winery. Heide-Rose, the family’s heart and soul, has cooked lunch for us – a much-needed boost. Forty-five minutes later – just enough time for my back to loosen up – we’re back in the vineyard. We’re a bit behind schedule, probably because we’ve been chatting too much.
After a few more hours, I can feel the muscles in my shoulders starting to protest. Jan laughs as he sees me stretching. “This is just the beginning. Wait till you feel it tomorrow.” He’s right. But what surprises me more is how much I’m enjoying it, despite the strain. We talk a lot about life, winemaking, and strategies for marketing and sales. Time flies, and I feel strangely at ease.
In the late afternoon, Jan takes me to Möhlsheim, where Raumland’s cellar is. This is the domain of Katharina and cellar master Kazuyuki Kaise. Yes, you heard right. A Japanese man, an incredibly kind one at that. Humble and always with a smile on his face, he’s been a cornerstone of Raumland for over a decade. The presses are running, and the first juice is slowly trickling out. It tastes divine. Clear and acidic, yet beautifully sweet and fruity. Glorious. Later, Jan shows me his freshly harvested Pinots, which have only been on the skins for a few days. He’s recently started marketing them under his own label, WongAmat. The current 2022 vintage has already caused quite a stir in the European wine scene, and the 2024 musts taste just as promising. The 2023 vintage is still in the barrel, showing great potential but needing a bit more time.
The day ends with dinner at the winery. We drink various reds and whites – the perfect end to an exhausting but fulfilling day. We raise our glasses, and for a moment, I sit in silence, savoring the company, the weather, the view. I’m proud to be part of this sparkling wine harvest.
This morning, I wake up with a slight muscle ache, but I guess that’s part of the deal. The day starts much like yesterday, but I already feel a bit more seasoned. Jan greets me with his cheeky grin again, and I know what’s coming: vines, grapes, sun, and a lot of work.
Today, we’re in a different section of the vineyard, and the grapes here seem smaller, with looser clusters. There’s something oddly satisfying about filling each crate, knowing we’re getting closer to the goal with every bunch. It almost feels like a personal challenge: How many rows can I finish today? Can I improve my rhythm?
By late morning, the sky clears, and suddenly the sun breaks through. It gets warm, and I rip off my rain jacket. The contrast to yesterday’s rain couldn’t be greater, and I notice how everyone’s spirits lift. Today, I’m mostly harvesting with Marie-Luise. She’s pregnant, but that doesn’t stop her from getting in on the action. She tells me stories from past sparkling wine harvests, about particularly successful vintages and those that kept her up at night. It’s impressive how passionate she is about sparkling wine. The whole family is obsessed with it. Every bottle, every vintage is a piece of history, a chapter of their passion. And over the past two days, I’ve come to understand that more and more.
As the second day comes to a close, I’m physically exhausted but deeply content. There’s something special about experiencing the winemaking process up close, from vine to harvest. I look back at the vineyards, at the baskets full of grapes, at the people who picked them. There’s this quiet satisfaction that spreads within me. Raumland isn’t just a sparkling wine house; it’s a place where craftsmanship and passion come together. And now, after these two days, I’ll see every sip of their sparkling wine in a whole new light.
Again, I think of the floods in Lower Austria and the Czech Republic. How close these contrasts are: here, where the sun breaks through the clouds and the grapes glisten, we harvest in peace, gathering the fruits of the year. There, just a few hundred kilometers away, nature is fighting back with full force. It’s a strange feeling, but it makes this sparkling wine harvest all the more precious.
The next time I hold a glass of Raumland sparkling wine, I won’t just taste the wine. I’ll taste the morning wind, the soil on my boots, the quiet moments between the vines. I’ll know that this sparkling wine tells a story – one that I got to be part of, if only for two short days.
